Intel’s Connected Care health plans are demonstrating the company’s “pay-for-performance” structure is delivering improved results in states where it has its largest employee bases: New Mexico, Oregon, Arizona and California.

Intel, which employs about 50,000 people in the U.S., contracts directly with healthcare delivery systems.

HOW IT WORKS

The Connected Care program requires the use of information technology, notably EHRs, to exchange health data across care teams, and works in partnership with delivery systems to improve quality of care.

Clinicians in the program were given access to accurate and complete information about a patient’s medical history, and then held accountable for the quality of the care they delivered.

The results, published in a white paper, indicate spending can be controlled through direct purchasing from healthcare delivery systems, rather than going through an intermediary.

TANGIBLE RESULTS

In Oregon, Intel garnered substantial savings on the healthcare costs of the Connected Care population, with an average of 17% less per member per month — translating to $1.8 million per month — compared to a risk-adjusted population of employees covered by the two traditional health plan offerings in the state.

Data from Oregon also shows employees and their families are experiencing demonstrably better health outcomes with a 94% employee retention rate in the program.

Intel also said Connected Care members are experiencing better health outcomes thanks to increased engagement — for example, when it comes to HbA1c testing compliance, 91% of Connected Care members were found in compliance versus 88% of non-Connected Care employees

Meanwhile, the average rate of Connected Care hypertensive patients within good control increased to 87% from 71% between 2016 and 2017, and the average rate of Connected Care diabetic patients within good control increased to 78% from 68% in the same timeframe.

The results indicated consumers can be highly satisfied with the care they receive under accountable care arrangements when programs are designed with the patient at the center.

WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW

“This model can be replicated in the broader healthcare system with straightforward legislative and regulatory changes,” Lisa Malloy, head of U.S. Government relations for Intel, wrote in a blog post.

In each Connected Care region, Intel has focused on enhancing the patient experience through interoperable health IT, improving quality and outcomes through information maintained in electronic health record systems (EHRs), and improving population health and healthcare quality through data analytics, using clinical, financial, and process-level data.

“Share as much information with your partners as you can, with a shared understanding of why you are doing this,” Heather Wilson, Intel’s health and wellness program office manager for the Greater Americas, wrote in the paper. “Both sides need a strong understanding of what is possible and who is accountable.”

Nathan Eddy is a healthcare and technology freelancer based in Berlin.